Here For His Not!Waifu

[melted_stone]

Nephrite (or Sanjouin Masato, as he was known now), watched the stove with bated breath, his heel bouncing up and down off the ground impatiently. Ami-chan had been down lately, so he did one of the few things he knew to cheer up: make her food. His last attempt at baked goods was a mitigated disaster, but he really thought he had it this time

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[waterfell]

Mercury's here, but possibly not the one Nephrite's hoping for. She has a smile on her lips, but it's that amused and slightly mocking one. As much as the sight in front of her actually disturbs her on the same deep level that drove her to help him before, she can't help this reaction to seeing him so hapless.

"It's been awhile, Nephrite," she says. Not with her world's, but she assumes he may be one of the other human Nephrites she's met.

[melted_stone]

What.

What?

No. Oh HELL no. "Where is he?" he growls, "Where's the bastard that did this to you again? I swear I'll rip his throat out with my own two hands!!" He worked too hard to get Ami out of that place; he wasn't going to lose her again!

[waterfell]

What a nice way to immediately provoke her.

"This isn't Kunzite," Mercury says a bit stiffly. "This is my own will." She's sticking to that story, too. At least in front of this Nephrite who's already trying to look down on her.

[melted_stone]

Stick a knife in his heart, why don't you?

"Why?" he asked, voice dangerously low, his hands clenching into fists. "You... You looked so grateful, when I saved you, so why?"

[waterfell]

Change angry to bewildered. He...? Mercury gives a puzzled frown as she glances away. That's right, in some worlds she went back. Kunzite would kill her for that. Kunzite would have killed her for that except for Nephrite.

How could it be so easy to avoid thinking about that for so long that she'd nearly forgotten it?

"You saved me?"

[melted_stone]

Masato nodded firmly. "I remember it like it was yesterday," he insisted; maybe if she remembered that, she'd go back to normal. Wishful thinking much, Masato?

[waterfell]

She has that creepy feeling of being a stranger to herself, but Mercury brushes it firmly away. This is some other world. It's nothing to do with her.

"Nephrite," she asks, already leading him to the right conclusions, "When was this?"

[melted_stone]

"It was a few weeks ago..." He sighed, resisting the urge to punch a cupboard.

[waterfell]

Punching the cupboard would scare her.

"A few weeks." She nods, straightening her posture to her full height now that she's confident about the situation.

"Nephrite, I turned seventeen a little while ago. If something like that really just happened, she should be fifteen. I'm not the Mercury you know."

[melted_stone]

"S-seventeen...?" Argh, Masato's brain hurts. "Time travel, then?"

[waterfell]

"It's more complicated than that," Mercury admits. A different time, a different everything.

Then, just because this Nephrite somehow escaped and because somehow the 'her' of this world was saved, she can't resist being cruel: "You wouldn't understand even if it was explained."

Vindictive? Definitely.

[melted_stone]

Masato's eyes narrowed. "I don't want or need you here if all you plan to do is patronize me," he said flatly, "Leave."

[waterfell]

From everyone leaving, to everyone telling her to leave. She's not always sure it's an improvement. Mercury's expression freezes in that faintly amused smile where she might still decide to do anything.

And then, she leaves. She shoots Nephrite a more unreadable look, then pivots on her heel and walks straight to the door, head held high.